


Time, space and your stupid face

by tinyarmedtrex



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: M/M, Mechanic Ronan, Pynch Week 2019, Space AU, but it makes sense, little role reversal there, office Adam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 12:24:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20796605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyarmedtrex/pseuds/tinyarmedtrex
Summary: “Here,” Ronan pointed. He was already shivering. “See this? It’s like someone messed with the gauge and told the ship we needed to use the uranium twice as fast.”“Who could do that?” Adam asked, leaning in and frowning. Ronan could see his breath.He took a second before he replied, knowing the impact his words would have. “Only commanders. Sir.”Adam looked at him, eyes wide. “Are you saying-”Ronan shook his head. “I’m not saying shit. But it’s a fact. Even I don’t have the code for that.”





	Time, space and your stupid face

“Did you forget, Ensign Lynch, how to properly close the hatch? Is your goal to get all of us sucked into deep space? Because if so, congratulations, mission accomplished.” 

Ronan held back his snarky reply but couldn’t keep the frown off his face and of course the officer in charge of the training noticed. He always noticed. 

“That’s not the proper expression to give a superior officer, Cadet. You’re dismissed.” Commander Parrish told him.

Ronan gave him the sloppiest salute that he could get away with and went back to his room, stripping off his uniform before falling onto his small bed. He hated Parrish, how the man told him what to do and when with a precision that no one else seemed subjected to. He hated how he always seemed to pick Ronan’s mistakes out, using them as examples for the others. He hated Parrish’s dirty blond hair, his freckles, the slight smile he got when talking to the ship’s captain.

He hated that he was madly in love with the man and that he had zero chance with him.

It hadn’t started like this. When Ronan had signed on as a ship mechanic, he’d seen Parrish and thought the man was cute, in a self deprecating sort of way. But then, listening to him talk, how he explained things and taught others, how he always seemed to know the answer but let others respond first, Ronan’s feelings had turned into something more. 

But he was a mechanic. Maybe the best one on the ship but it didn’t matter. He wasn’t allowed to have a relationship with a commanding officer, even one who wasn’t in his division. That was of course assuming that Parrish would even give him the time of day. Instead, he resigned himself to interactions like before, where the only attention he got was by doing something wrong. 

Ronan let himself mope for as long as he could before donning his overalls and heading down into the bowels of the ship. He was there to relieve his second in command, Noah, who had the last twelve hour shift. They were still several days out from their rendezvous point and so far everything had been quiet in a way that only deep space could be. Ronan loved it out here, loved the hum of the ship and being able to look out his window and see new stars every time. It was a strange life but one he wouldn’t trade for the world. 

“Something’s fucked.” Noah told him, swinging down from a beam as Ronan entered the room. He tapped one of the computers, pulling up the readings for the day. “Our flux capacitor is running hot. And we’re running through uranium faster than normal.”

“What?” Ronan hurried over, eyes scanning the data. “If this is right-”

“We’re boned. Dead in the water.”

“Have you told anyone?” 

Noah shook his head. “Fuck no, I don’t want my ass in the bridge.” 

“Fuck you, Czerny.” Ronan said, not really surprised. Noah was never one to do more than he had to and delivering news like this was sure to end badly. If the ship was stalled, even for a day, it was possible that pirates would find them. They had limited defenses and being stranded out here, alone, they’d be like sitting ducks. 

“Who’s the commanding officer on duty?” Ronan asked, knowing he would have to message them.

“Parrish.”

Ronan let loose a string of expletives in his head before saying, “Go get some sleep, if this is as bad as we think, you’ll be back soon.” Noah nodded, skittering away and leaving Ronan with a huge problem. Uranium was their main fuel, they were supposed to have enough to make the trip there and back with no issues but it looked like the fuel had been dumped, emptied into space. It didn’t make any sense. 

He raised his com, continuing to punch buttons and try to figure out what the hell happened. “Parrish, you need to get down to the guts. We’ve got a problem.”

“That's not how this works, you need to-”

“I don’t really give a warp speed fuck about protocol right now. This is big.” 

Ronan could picture Adam’s expression. Brows pinched, lips pursed, debating about telling him off.

“Give me five minutes, I’m in the east quarters.”

He always knew that Adam was smart. 

While he waited, he tinkered with the equipment, hoping to have some sort of answer for Adam when he came. Anything. 

Ronan was never very lucky.

“Ensign Lynch, what was so urgent that you needed me immediately? I was working with-”

“Look.” Ronan shoved his wrist at Adam, showing him the readouts. “Something happened. Something bad.”

“Celestial balls.” Adam swore silently. Ronan was glad he was the one on duty, if it had been Officer Carruthers, Adam’s boyfriend, Ronan would have wasted valuable time explaining everything. Ronan had seen them together more than once, eating lunch or walking together. It was a twist of a knife each time, a reminder that Adam had chosen someone far better than him. 

Adam seemed to understand without him saying anything. 

“What happened?” Adam asked, flicking through the data and frowning. 

“I’m not sure, I’ve been trying to figure it out.” Ronan had an idea but he couldn’t say it outloud, not without proof.

“Can we fix it?” 

Ronan shook his head. “We have enough fuel to run about six more hours.”

“Not enough to get us anywhere useful.” Adam said, finishing Ronan’s thought. “And the closet Starforce ship is hundreds of clicks away. We’re alone.” 

He nodded, letting it sink in. They were in deep space, thousands of miles from friendlies and someone had damaged the ship. He watched as Adam worked through the issue, already considering all their options and deciding on the best one. 

“I’m going to message the com team then I want you to walk me through what happened.” 

“Whatever.” Ronan watched Adam step away, muttering a long series of numbers into his wrist then saying a quick message into his coms and adding that no, he couldn’t explain right now, just do it.

A minute later, he stepped back. “Okay, tell me what happened.”

“Are you sure you’ll understand?” He knew that Adam was smart but the science behind this wasn’t obvious and he didn't want to waste precious time explaining it.

“I worked as a mechanic for five years before being promoted. I think I’ve got it.”

Ronan nearly smiled, imagining Adam in overalls. “Fine. Button your coat. We need to go into the engine room and it’s colder than Neptune’s surface in there.”

As Adam’s deft fingers buttoned his heavy coat, Ronan grabbed one of the spare jackets and threw it on. 

“You too.” Adam said, stopping Ronan before he reached the door and zipping his coat. Ronan had to remind himself to breathe. 

As he opened the door, he was hit with a wave of frigid air. He hated it in here and tried to avoid it but, unfortunately, it was the place they needed to be to fix the issue. 

The door closed behind Adam, sandwiching them in. The room wasn’t small but it was filled with equipment, everything necessary to keep the ship running. It meant that it was crowded and the two had to be next to each other as they worked. 

“Here,” Ronan pointed. He was already shivering. “See this? It’s like someone messed with the gauge and told the ship we needed to use the uranium twice as fast.”

“Who could do that?” Adam asked, leaning in and frowning. Ronan could see his breath. 

He took a second before he replied, knowing the impact his words would have. “Only commanders. Sir.” 

Adam looked at him, eyes wide. “Are you saying-”

Ronan shook his head. “I’m not saying shit. But it’s a fact. Even I don’t have the code for that.” 

Adam frowned, punching in some numbers and confirming. “It was last accessed by Carruthers.” He said, his voice barely above a whisper. “God, is this mutiny?” 

“And you and your boyfriend are stuck on opposite sides.” 

Adam looked at him, frowning. “That prat? He’s not my boyfriend.” Ronan’s relief was intense but short lived. He punched in more numbers then pointed. “What about this? Could we reroute the power from the auxiliary line?”

Ronan leaned closer, examining the screen then nodding. “I think so- we’d have to do it manually though. And it might not work.”

“It’s our best shot.” Adam turned to him. “Lead the way Lynch.”

Ronan shook his head. “You can’t come, are you insane? I’ll call Noah.” No way was he bringing a commanding officer with him. 

“Your mate who just got off a twelve hours shift? No, you need someone fresh for this. I know the systems.”

Ronan scowled and opened his mouth but Adam was shaking his head. “Don’t argue with a superior officer.” He was so sick of hearing that phrase. 

“Fine. Sir. It’s this way.” He started to walk, not bothering to see if Adam was following him. Ronan was fairly certain that this was his own personal hell, asides from the ship’s imminent failure and the fact that they’d all be sitting ducks very soon, he was about to be trapped in a very small space with Parrish and they had a very short time frame to try and save everyone on board. 

Not exactly how he pictured his day going. 

“Here.” He opened the hatch, dropping to his hands and knees and crawling in. He heard Adam behind him. “Don’t forget to put it back otherwise-”

“Otherwise the hot air escapes and it can cool too quickly. I told you, I know.” Unlike the room they had been in this one was hot. They both dropped their coats then crouched down. 

They crawled down the small shaft and into a room full of beeping lights, valves and levers. One of the tests to be a mechanic was to correctly name all of the things in front of him. Ronan had spent a solid month memorizing them. Of course, now he only remembered the ones he used often. 

“So if we can reconfigured this-” Adam said, pointing at the main fuel line. They were pressed together, Adam’s shoulder next to his. “We could move some power from the secondary lines to here, buy us at least twenty minutes.” 

Ronan nodded, sweat already pooling and dripping down his face. This room was kept hot for the engines and crew weren’t supposed to stay in there for long. 

“But you need to remember not to touch the air supply or we’ll all die before the ship can dock.”

Adam nodded thoughtfully. “What about anti-grav? Think we could manage without that?” 

“Not well.” 

“Fair enough. Well Lynch, you start fiddling there, I want to take a closer look at the fuel cells.” Adam dropped to his hands and knees again, crawling half into another space. If it had been another circumstance, Ronan would have been utterly useless but he was well aware of their need to fix this issue so he focused, punching in numbers and data to reroute the power.

After five minutes, he pushed the final button, chewing on his bottom lip as he watched the numbers jump. If he wasn’t sweating before, he was now, knowing that one wrong move could blow something up.

“Fuck yes.” He said as numbers jumped from red to green and everything equalized. Power was restored to the engines, enough to get them to a fueling station.

“Did you do it?” Adam asked, crawling out of the vent. He was holding one of the fueling cells that looked to have been badly damaged by a blunt instrument. 

Ronan just pointed, enjoying the grin that spread across Adam’s face. “Well done. Now, let’s get out of here and see if the bridge needs us.” They crawled out of the small space and into the slightly larger one. Ronan swore it was even colder in there now. He waited as Adam went to the door, trying not to think about what could be happening on the rest of the ship.

The door didn’t move. 

“Push harder Parrish, do you get to skip the gym once you’re an officer?” Ronan’s words were accented by the fact that he could see his breath. 

“No it’s-”

“Stuck?”

“Locked.” Adam looked at him, brows furrowed. “Here, you try.” The two switched places and Adam began sending several quick messages while Ronan tried the door. It was indeed locked. He kicked it, hard, but was only rewarded with a pain in his foot.

“I sent the deck a message.” Adam said as Ronan stood. “But all I got back was an SOS. I think they’re stuck in their own fight.”

“Fuck.” Ronan looked at the door and then the small room. There was no way out. He pulled his zipper up as far as he could, wishing he’d grabbed the hat and gloves too. 

“What now?” He asked, pacing the small space. 

“We wait. They’ll come when they can.”

“We’ll freeze.” He said, his breath lingering in the air as if to prove his point.

“We’ll be uncomfortable.” Adam corrected. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

Ronan spared a glare at him then resumed pacing, rubbing his arms over himself as he did. He tried Noah and the rest of his team but he got the same SOS signal. 

“We saved the ship and now I’m going to die in its bowels.” He muttered. “Fuck this.” He was starting to lose feeling in his fingers and toes. He flexed both, hoping to keep the circulation going. 

“You did your duty Lynch, you should be proud.”

Ronan didn’t reply and Adam let out a long sigh, stepping in front of him. “Here.” He held his arms out. 

“A hug for doing my job?” 

“A hug to keep you warm. We can use body heat.” Ronan saw the tips of Adam’s ears grow red and he didn’t think it was from the cold. 

Ronan’s snarky reply died on his lips as Adam wrapped his arms around Ronan. He had to admit, he was instantly warmer. He moved in, holding Adam too. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect the day to include this.

“I feel stupid.” He said, trying to find the least awkward way to stand. “This feels like a bullshit sharing circle, not a celebration for saving the ship.” He didn’t know why he said it. It was the awkwardness of the hug mixed with the fact that his friends could be dying. Ronan hated being useless, being stuck in here, even if it was with Adam. 

“You don’t always have to be tough.” Adam said quietly, cutting through all of his bluster in a way that was far too effective. 

“What do you know about it?” Ronan countered, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Your only interaction with me is to tell me what I’ve done wrong.” 

Adam pulled back just enough to look Ronan in the eyes. “You think that’s what I’m doing?”

“I know it. You love to single me out.” The cat was out of the bag, Ronan might as well finish his thoughts. “You’re harder on me that anyone else. You make sure all my shit is spotless. You never let me fuck up or slack off. You-”

Ronan’s rant was cut off by Adam’s lips, suddenly pressed against his. Ronan was surprised but not stupid, he kissed Adam back as fiercely as he could. If this was a dream sent by hypothermia, he was going to enjoy it before the blackness started and he passed out. 

Just as suddenly, Adam moved back. “You’re a damned idiot Lynch. I do all that because I- care for you.”

“You care for me?” Even now, Ronan couldn’t keep the smirk off his face. “Like my grandpa or something?”

Adam’s response was to grab Ronan’s face and kiss him again, slotting their lips together and not letting Ronan go for several seconds.

“Would your grandpa kiss you like that Lynch?” Adam asked once he released Ronan, both breathing heavy. 

“I mean he was a dirty old-”

“Lynch!”

“Fuck. Okay. No, he wouldn’t. So you-” He paused, trying to think of a mature way to say it. “You like like me?” 

Adam pressed his lips into a smile and then nodded. “How could I not? You’re so eloquent.”

“Fuck off.” But Ronan was smiling now. And so was Adam, marred only slightly by how pink his cheeks were. 

“Well fuck, now we have to get out of here. I need to survive so I can kiss you again.”

Adam laughed, open and honest, a laugh that Ronan hadn’t heard before and that he desperately wanted to hear again. “Escape the inescapable room, stop a mutiny, save the ship- then we can kiss again.”

“Fucking deal.” Ronan said, turning to think. They couldn’t get out through the door. Fine. There had to be another way. 

He dropped down, looking along the floor for panels. Adam watched and Ronan had a suspicion that it wasn't just because of his life saving heroics. 

“Here.” Ronan said, sliding his fingers under one and pulling it up. “It’s tight as fuck but we should be able to shimmy through it and then push out on the other side.”

Adam nodded approvingly. “That’s a good plan. Let’s go, they need our help.” He dropped into a deep squat, grinning at Ronan. “Try not to stare at my ass the whole time.” He said before dropping in. 

“It’s not your ass I’m interested in.” Ronan muttered, dropping in after Adam. He was right, it was a tight fit but they made it, finally leaving the oppressively cold room and making their way back to the adjoining room. 

With some difficulty, Adam popped the panel on the other side, crawling out then helping Ronan. They shed their coats and Ronan’s fingers tingled, a sign that life was returning to them. 

“Now the hard part begins.”

Ronan nodded. They didn’t know how the mutiny was going or how many people were on their side. And they didn’t have any weapons but Ronan knew they had to fight. He couldn’t see the ship saved only to lose it to mutineering bastards right after. 

Moving slowly, they made their way to the control room, taking turns peering around corners for people. They didn’t see anyone along the way and once there, Adam grabbed the door, counting to three then throwing it open.

They charged in, arms at the ready, but inside things were quiet. The room was wrecked and there were only two people inside, one bandaging the other.

“Status report.” Adam demanded. 

“It’s over.” The injured one said. “Just now. There were only a few people on their side. Their main plan seemed to be stopping the ship and then having more people file on.” He looked them over, probably recognizing Adam for the first time. “But I heard you prevented that. You’re heroes.”

“Parrish!” Captain Gansey rushed into the room, pulling Adam into a tight hug. “I just dispatched people to help you.” 

“We managed to escape on our own.” Adam said, nodding to Ronan. “Lynch and I.”

“Fantastic. Come on Commander, we need your expertise determining exactly what happened and how. We’re heading to the refueling station soon and that’s when the questions begin.” Gansey lead Adam away before the two of them could speak and suddenly Ronan was alone. Adam didn’t so much as spare a glance back at him as he spoke with Gansey. Ronan sighed, running a hand over his head.

“Well fuck.” He said, forgetting that other people were there. They looked at him, confused, but he ignored it, deciding to go to his room. He’d earned the rest of the day off. On his way, he saw signs of the battle, scratches in the floor or a person being taken to the bridge. As he showered, he received a report, saying there were no casualties and that all the offending parties had been caught. 

A few hours later he was laying in bed, a fancy whiskey in his hand and listening to music, when there was a knock on his door.

“I already told you, Noah. I don’t want to go dockside. Even if the men have two-” He stopped as he opened the door.

“Two what?” Adam asked, chocolates and wine in his hands. 

“Hands.” He finished dumbly. 

“How rare.” Adam said, stepping inside. “I came back. This,” He raised the wine. “Is to celebrate. And this.” The chocolates. “Is an apology for disappearing. I had to tell Gansey what happened, you’ll get commendations tomorrow. I begged him to wait a day, saying you needed to rest.” 

“I don’t want that shit.” Ronan said, shaking his head. Adam’s face fell but Ronan stepped in, close enough that he could smell the ship issued soap on him. “I want that kiss. Then maybe the chocolates.” 

Adam visibly relaxed, putting the items down on Ronan’s table then reaching for him. Adam took Ronan’s face in his hands, kissing him gently at first and then harder, fiercer. 

Ronan matched him every step of the way. Especially as Adam lead them to Ronan’s bed, pushing him down on it and straddling him. “As your commanding officer.” Adam said, running a finger over Ronan’s torso. “I order you to take this off.”

“Fuck that really shouldn’t be so hot.” Ronan said, stripping as Adam demanded, their lips meeting again and again. The two fell asleep together that night, Ronan curled next to Adam, the pair surrounded by discarded chocolate wrappers. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed all my nonsense space words. More fiction than science over here


End file.
